- FOUR CORNERS AIRPORT
FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) — Commercial flights may be returning to a crucial airport in the Four Corners.
The Farmington Daily Times reports officials said Tuesday commercial flights will likely return to the Four Corners Regional Airport by next summer.
The announcement comes after construction began at the airport in September to upgrade a runway. The upgrades will permit the airport to move from a BII classification to a CII classification, which allows for larger planes to land and depart.
Farmington City Manager Rob Mayes says the upgrades benefit communities around Farmington and Durango, Colorado.
The airport has not hosted commercial flights since Great Lakes Aviation left in fall 2017. Prior to Great Lakes Aviation leaving, the airline had flights from Farmington to Denver and Los Angeles.
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- MOUNT CRISTO REY
SUNLAND PARK, N.M. (AP) — Thousands are expected to participate in the 80th-anniversary pilgrimage and Mass on a New Mexico hill sacred to Catholics.
The El Paso Times reports the Diocese of Las Cruces and the Mount Cristo Rey Restoration Committee are scheduled Sunday to lead the 5-mile (8-kilometer) pilgrimage to the top of Mount Cristo Rey.
Diocese officials say the pilgrimage is always on the last Sunday of October to commemorate the building of the mountain monument. It also represents the Feast of Christ the King, which is celebrated in November.
Mount Cristo Rey is located just off the U.S.-Mexico border in Sunland Park, New Mexico.
- NEW MEXICO-QUARTERBACK
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico has suspended senior quarterback Sheriron Jones indefinitely from the team for undisclosed reasons.
The Albuquerque Journal reports Lobos coach Bob Davie announced the suspension Tuesday at his weekly press conference but declined to give details.
The move comes as New Mexico (2-5) seeks to try to snap a four-game skid in their homecoming game against Hawaii (4-3) on Saturday.
Jones, who started seven games last year when New Mexico went 3-9, was beaten out for the starting job in preseason camp by junior college transfer Brandt Hughes.
Jones played in the second half of the season opener after Hughes suffered a season-ending shoulder injury.
Davie says quarterback Tevaka Tuioti will start against Hawaii.
- WINTER STORM
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A winter storm warning has been issued for northern and northeastern New Mexico through Thursday evening with heavy snowfall expected.
The National Weather Service in Albuquerque says the coldest air of the season will also filter in by Thursday afternoon and Friday morning with freezing temperatures possible as far south as southern New Mexico.
Up to a foot of snow could fall over Raton Pass and the Johnson and Bartlett Mesas by Thursday with up to 8 inches (203.2 millimeters) blanketing the highest elevations of the Sangre de Cristo mountains.
Along the Interstate 25 corridor from Las Vegas to Raton, 1 to 4 inches (25.4 to 101.6 millimeters) of snow may fall and create slick road conditions.
New Mexico Department of Transportation crews have been loading up salt and cinder trucks for the past two days.
- CHINLE AIRPORT STAYING OPEN
CHINLE, Ariz. (AP) — The Navajo Division of Transportation has decided to keep the Chinle Community Airport runway open after all, with intermittent closure for repairs.
The division's Road Maintenance and Airports Management departments assessed the runway Oct. 14 and wanted to close it indefinitely until improvement plans could be determined.
The assessment showed the north and south ends of the 6,900-foot (2,103-meter) runway have significant asphalt problems with some large cracks.
On Tuesday, the transportation division met with the Indian Health Service, Chinle Comprehensive Health Care Facility, Eagle Air Med and Armstrong Consultants to further assess the runway.
Armstrong Consultants specializes in airport planning, engineering, design and construction administration.
Current repairs to the runway are estimated at $900,000 with major reconstruction of the entire runway scheduled for 2022 at a cost of $5 million.
- LEGISLATION-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has distributed survey forms to legislators in a break with tradition as she weighs what initiatives to allow in next year's rapid-fire 30-day legislative session.
Priorities ranging from gun control to marijuana legalization are vying for limited room on the agenda when lawmakers convene in January to craft an annual budget.
Lujan Grisham spokesman Tripp Stelnicki confirmed Wednesday that request forms have been distributed to lawmakers to ensure proposals are reviewed.
Democratic Senate President Mary Kay Papen says the forms are a new approach in her 19 years of legislative experience.
The 2020 agenda remained a mystery Wednesday at the Statehouse amid impassioned discussions of whether to allow courts to temporarily seize guns from people believed to be a danger to themselves or others.
- GUN CONTROL-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A leading proponent of so-called red-flag legislation in New Mexico to restrict firearms for people perceived as threats says he has been unable to reach a comprise with sheriffs who criticize his initiative.
Democratic Rep. Daymon Ely of Corrales told a panel of legislators Wednesday that he cannot support suggested changes to his so-called red-flag bill after a meeting with sheriffs in the governor's office and additional correspondence.
Ely's proposal allows a court to order the seizure of guns based on a petition by law enforcement or relatives of a gun owner, with an automatic appeal hearing afterward. He rejected a suggestion to delay gun seizures for up to 15 days prior to a court hearing.
Red flag laws are now on the books in 17 states and Washington, D.C.
- FORMER FIREFIGHTER ARRESTED-SEXUAL ASSAULT
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Authorities say a former Bernalillo County firefighter has been arrested in nearly a decade-old sexual assault case.
County sheriff's officials say 44-year-old Celso Montano is being held without bond on suspicion of kidnapping and criminal sexual penetration.
Authorities say Montano's DNA matched a May 2009 rape case on the backlog.
It was unclear Wednesday if Montano has a lawyer yet.
The Albuquerque Journal reports Montano was charged in 2012 with multiple counts of kidnapping, rape and assault in separate attacks on four women over a three-month stretch.
He pleaded no contest in 2014 to two misdemeanor counts each of patronizing prostitution and criminal sexual contact.
According to the Journal, Montano was sentenced to three years in jail and probation. He already had served 18 months behind bars before his sentencing.